Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Takes Position in ePlus inc. $PLUS

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,024 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PLUS. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ePlus during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in ePlus by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new position in ePlus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in ePlus by 361.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 448 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in ePlus by 200.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 525 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John E. Callies sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.03, for a total transaction of $50,416.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,929,162.84. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Price Performance

NASDAQ PLUS opened at $87.36 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $88.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.01. ePlus inc. has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $93.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.44. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $529.60 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLUS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, ePlus currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus Inc (NASDAQ:PLUS) is a technology solutions provider that helps enterprises and public-sector organizations maximize the value of their information technology investments. The company specializes in designing, implementing and managing complex IT infrastructures, with a focus on security, cloud computing, data center modernization and unified communications. By combining consulting services with software license management and hardware procurement, ePlus delivers end-to-end solutions that align with its clients’ strategic objectives.

The company’s offerings include cybersecurity assessments and managed security services, hybrid and public cloud deployments, network architecture and optimization, and collaboration platforms.